The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has advised motorcycle dealers in the northern region to ensure that their clients register their machines at the point of buying to avoid arrest by police when they are found riding without registration numbers.
The DVLA Manager for the northern region, Mr Abdulai Mutawakil said dealers who fail to comply with this directive in the coming months will lose out in business because the authority will ensure the public do not purchase their products.
He disclosed the DVLA has in the past few months activated the Motor Dealers Association of Ghana chapter in the northern regional capital, Tamale.
In this regard, Mr Mutawakil appealed to all dealers to join the association to protect their businesses, adding that, “We are going to sensitize the public that if you’re going to buy motorcycle, ask the person, are you a member of the motor dealers association? If he is not a member, please do not buy because he cannot do registration for you.”
“And I can assure you that every Sunday the members hold meetings and we are in constant touch with them. And very soon – I think before the end of this month, selling motor without registration will become an offence”
He said the authority has supplied forms to the Chairman of the Motor Dealers Association in Tamale and assured that registration will be provided to individuals who buy their motorbikes on weekends.
“We have already made these provisions ready and that thing is working but it is just that some people are having strong ears and still sell motors without going for the numbers”
The DVLA Manager made these remarks in an interview with Journalists in Tamale during a joint operation carried out by the Ghana Police Service, National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) and the DVLA on Monday, October 11, 2021.
The Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Police Service impounded 344 motorcycles in the Tamale metropolis for violating various road regulations.
The Northern Regional Police Commander, COP Timothy Bonga Yoosa at a media briefing said the figure comprised of 285 unregistered motorbikes, 4 motorking tricycles, 1 yellow yellow tricycle and 59 motorbikes without crush helmets.
He said the road traffic regulations in the Tamale metropolis and the region as a whole has been bedeviled with numerous challenges for some time now necessitating the enforcement of the Road Traffic Regulation 2012 (L.I2180).
Clampdown on fake number plates
He indicated the police in a matter of two weeks expect a software from the DVLA to enable the police clampdown on fake numbers on vehicles in the region.
According to COP Bonga, that software will determine whether a vehicle is genuinely registered or not, stating further that, “As we have started this exercise, we’re not stopping now and many people will want to have their way out by fixing fake numbers but this software will help to determine immediately whether it is genuine or fake one and we stand here to thank the DVLA for that”.
